Does Dr Jonathan
Sarfati Have Any Integrity?John StearRevised September 2006

Dr Jonathan Sarfati is a Young Earth Creationist (YEC). He is
employed by the Australianheadquarters of
Answers in Genesis(AiG) at
Acacia Ridge in Queensland, Australia.

According to his c.v. Dr Sarfati "obtained honors level in
physical and inorganic chemistry, as well as in condensed matter physics and nuclear
physics." He also studied mathematics, geology and physics at Victoria
University in Wellington, New Zealand.

Dr Sarfati writes extensively for AiG. His writing covers most
aspects of science as it relates to evolution. However, like many creationists, he
attempts to refute many aspects of evolution by writing beyond his field of expertise.

In one of his recent books, Refuting Evolution, he,
typically, revisits areas which have been refuted by scientists many times. This is
a well used creationist tactic; tell a lie often enough and it becomes truth.
Unfortunately this is often a successful ploy as most grassroots creationists parrot these
lies as if they were really scientifically sound.

It comes as no surprise then that Dr Sarfati also employes that well known
creationist tactic of quoting out of context.

... evolutionists have had to abandon many "proofs" for evolution as
well. For example, the atheistic evolutionist W.B. Provine admits: "Most of what I
learned of the field in graduate (1964-68) school is either wrong or significantly
changed." Creationists understand the limitations of these dating methods better than
evolutionists who claim that they can use certain present process to "prove"
that the earth is billions of years old.

Dr Provine writes that most of what he learned of the field of high school
biology when in graduate school is either wrong or has changed.
Nowhere does he equate his remarks to dating methods as Dr Sarfati
dishonestly claims.

Here is Dr Provine's quote in context:

Greater understanding of evolution is a laudable goal. High school biology
textbooks are woefully out of date. I use a rough measure for how rapidly evolutionary
biology changes. Most of what I learned of the field in graduate school (1964-68) is
either wrong or significantly changed. Yet many high school textbooks could have been
written in the mid-1950s. A boost from the National Academy of Sciences might really help.

Dr Provine's words can be found in the first para under the heading Evolution and Science[now deleted from the Darwin web site but available
on the Web Archive]and strangely, Dr Sarfati supplies this link in his book. Does it ever dawn on
creationists that some of their (few) erudite readers might want to verify a quote?

I wrote to Answers in Genesis' Web Feedback
pointing out Dr Sarfati's dishonest use of Dr Provine's statement and received a reply
from Dr Sarfati (although my criticism is yet to be published on AiG's "Web
Feedback" page). Below is the relevent part of the exchange: [NOTE: Follow this link to read the full text of Dr Sarfati's e-mail reply]

Stear:

Dr Provine admits that most of what he
learned of high school biology when in graduate school is either wrong or has changed, but
nowhere does he equate his remarks to dating methods as Sarfati dishonestly claims.

Sarfati: That's not at all what I claimed.
The previous sentence--which you even quoted--makes it clear that I was
citing Provine in relation to "'proofs' of evolution" NOT dating methods, and
this whole piece was basically a parenthetical insertion illustrating the tentative nature
of all claims about the past.

Not good enough Dr Sarfati! Almost all of chapter eight of your book is
devoted to radiometric dating. Your first sentence following Dr Provine's
words begins "Creationists understand the limitations of these dating methods better
than evolutionists ... ".

Your explanation absolutely reeks of dishonesty, a deliberate juxtapositioning of
text in order to deliver a very specific (and totally deceptive) impression. You, Dr
Sarfati, are the consumate propagandist and would have done Joseph Goebbels proud!